# Authority Revealed Sermon transcript from Cross Church Surprise. Series: Miracles of Jesus Date: May 31, 2026 Watch: https://crosschurchcares.com/surprise/episodes/authority-revealed ## Summary What if the real Jesus is more than we’ve ever imagined? Are we trying to fit Him into our lives instead of letting Him transform us? Discover how the authority of Christ is revealed in a powerful moment on a mountain. Let's dive in together! ## Transcript 0:00 · But I think in the church today, 0:01 · we can make the same mistakes. 0:04 · We try to make tents alongside Jesus 0:06 · to add him to our lives instead of putting him above it. 0:11 · We make a tent for Jesus and my politics. 0:15 · We make a tent for Jesus and my sports teams. 0:18 · We make a tent for Jesus and my kids' activities. 0:21 · Jesus and my career. 0:23 · Jesus and my sin. 0:25 · Jesus and, and we add these things next to him 0:28 · when he is the one and only 0:30 · and he cannot even be contained by a tent 0:32 · because he is so much bigger and glorious than it all. 0:40 · And for the last seven weeks, 0:42 · we've been working through this series 0:43 · that we've called Miracles. 0:45 · And we said from the very beginning 0:47 · that the whole point of this, 0:49 · that the whole point of the miracles of the gospels 0:51 · is to answer the question of who is Jesus. 0:57 · And as we've gone miracle by miracle, 0:59 · week by week, we've seen different glimpses 1:02 · of the authority of Christ. 1:04 · We've seen his authority over nature, 1:06 · where a hurricane sat down at his command. 1:09 · We've seen his authority over demons 1:11 · as he cast out a legion into pigs and off a cliff. 1:14 · What a sight to be seen. 1:16 · We've seen his authority over sin, 1:19 · that a paralyzed man was forgiven 1:21 · before he was ever healed. 1:23 · We've seen Christ's authority over disease 1:26 · as an unclean woman in a crowd who was cast out, 1:30 · just touched the robe of Christ 1:32 · and who was called daughter and welcomed into a community. 1:35 · We've seen Christ's authority over religion, 1:38 · that the Pharisees' man-made checklist was torn down 1:42 · as Jesus had compassion over people 1:45 · over their processes. 1:47 · And then we've also seen his authority over scarcity, 1:49 · where 15,000 plus people were fed 1:53 · with a little boy's lunch. 1:55 · Seven miracles, seven categories of Jesus' authority, 2:00 · seven answers to that same question over and over again 2:03 · is who is Jesus. 2:07 · In church today, as we wrap up this series, 2:11 · we get the final answer. 2:13 · And today is not one of these miracles 2:15 · where Jesus is doing something for someone. 2:18 · Today is not a healing or a casting out or a feeding. 2:22 · Today is a curtain getting pulled back 2:26 · for three disciples and for you and me 2,000 years 2:30 · where we pull back the curtains 2:32 · and we get to see the full picture of who Jesus is. 2:38 · Recently, I took my oldest son Archie, 2:41 · who is eight years old, to the movie theater 2:44 · and we went and saw his first Star Wars movie 2:46 · in theaters, The Mandalorian and Grogu. 2:50 · And yeah, that's the most excited you've been yet 2:53 · is clapping for a Star Wars movie. 2:55 · You better say amen later, all right? 2:56 · You are on it now, okay? 2:59 · But here is the crazy thing about that. 3:00 · As I was doing the math is he's eight years old 3:03 · and I saw my first Star Wars movie at eight years old 3:07 · as episode one, The Phantom Menace in theaters, all right? 3:11 · And some of you thought I was gonna say 3:13 · a Star Wars movie that happened before 3:14 · because some of you were there for the original ones, 3:16 · some of you were there for the opening night 3:18 · of It's a Wonderful Life. 3:22 · Okay, we won't get into math there too much. 3:25 · But as we got to see this movie, 3:26 · it was just awesome watching my sharing with my son 3:29 · just as he got to see this whole world being built. 3:33 · And Star Wars is just a great franchise. 3:36 · I mean, The Empire Strikes Back, 3:38 · one of the greatest cinematic movies of all time, 3:41 · but arguably the greatest sequel we have ever seen. 3:43 · And in that, there's this one moment 3:45 · that if you haven't seen it, shame on you. 3:48 · That's your homework after go watch Star Wars. 3:50 · But in that movie, I'm gonna spoil it for you, 3:53 · Darth Vader is he's talking to Luke 3:54 · right after he's cut off his hand, 3:56 · which is just a messed up move, right? 3:59 · But he says, Luke, I am your father. 4:03 · And the curtain pulled back 4:04 · and everything in that story changes. 4:06 · As the curtain comes, all of a sudden, 4:08 · everything we thought we knew, our minds are blown. 4:11 · There's another mini curtain 4:13 · in Return of the Jedi, 4:15 · is that after they take off Darth Vader's mask, 4:17 · we've been hearing James Earl Jones' voice 4:19 · for three movies. 4:20 · It's a shriveled up white guy 4:21 · who looks like Humpty Dumpty, 4:23 · which kinda just burst a different bubble. 4:26 · But here's the deal. 4:28 · Just as Star Wars pulled back to the curtains 4:30 · and showed us something 4:31 · and opened our minds to something else, 4:33 · today, we get to see the disciples' 4:36 · curtain pulling back moment. 4:38 · And it's ours too. 4:40 · As we get to see in Matthew 17 4:43 · how Jesus, his authority is revealed 4:46 · in a way that is not seen anywhere else in scripture. 4:51 · So let me ask you the question 4:52 · this whole series has been building towards. 4:55 · The question that this text is going to answer today 4:57 · in six different ways is, who is Jesus? 5:02 · And the first response we get 5:05 · that we see in Matthew 17, verse one, 5:07 · is Jesus is the one who calls. 5:11 · Matthew, chapter 17, starting in verse one, 5:13 · as they jump into this story, 5:15 · it says this, after six days, 5:17 · Jesus took Peter, James, and his brother John 5:20 · and led them up on a high mountain by themselves. 5:26 · As we jump into this story, 5:27 · we kinda have to pick up some context 5:29 · because it starts here and it says after six days. 5:32 · And we gotta ask, what happened during that time? 5:36 · Well, if you go back to chapter six, 5:38 · six days earlier in Matthew 16, 5:41 · Peter has this brilliant moment 5:43 · where Jesus asks, who am I? 5:45 · And he says, you are the Messiah, 5:46 · the son of the living God. 5:48 · He gives the right answer. 5:49 · He doesn't fully know what he's saying though 5:51 · in that moment. 5:52 · And then right after that, 5:53 · Jesus predicts his own death for the very first time. 5:57 · And as he's predicting his own death, 5:58 · he then tells the disciples, 6:00 · not only will I die, 6:03 · but he's like, one day, 6:04 · you will have to pick up your cross and follow me. 6:07 · And their minds are just racing. 6:08 · They have no idea what he's saying. 6:09 · They don't understand the full picture yet. 6:12 · And then following these huge conversations, 6:15 · all of a sudden there is six days of silence. 6:19 · Six days of letting that land, 6:22 · letting that marinate. 6:24 · If your spouse tells you something 6:26 · that blows your whole worldview 6:27 · and doesn't talk to you for six days, 6:29 · you probably think you're in trouble at that point. 6:31 · But six days of silence 6:34 · and notice the first thing Jesus does. 6:37 · He doesn't pull the disciples. 6:38 · He doesn't put it up for a vote. 6:40 · He doesn't take volunteers instead. 6:42 · He calls. 6:43 · And he calls three names, 6:45 · handpicked, his inner circle. 6:47 · These three men were with him 6:49 · when he raised Jarius' daughter from the dead. 6:51 · They were with him in Gethsemane 6:53 · the night before the cross. 6:54 · And they are the ones he chooses now 6:57 · for the most glorious moment of his earthly ministry. 7:01 · Now a side note is important here. 7:03 · As he calls these men, 7:04 · he says you're gonna go up on this mountain with me. 7:07 · If he didn't pick the most qualified men, 7:10 · he picked the most flawed. 7:12 · You see a guy like Peter. 7:14 · Peter would later deny him. 7:15 · Peter throughout the gospels 7:17 · is who I identify with most 7:18 · because Peter speaks before he thinks. 7:22 · And he usually says really stupid things. 7:23 · He wished he could take back and he cannot. 7:26 · Maybe some of you are like me 7:27 · where your mind is racing the whole time 7:29 · and instead of you actually thinking 7:31 · about what you're gonna say, you say it 7:32 · and then you're like I should not have said that. 7:34 · And then you say more words 7:35 · to make up for what you shouldn't say 7:36 · and the hole gets deeper and deeper and deeper. 7:40 · And Peter was this guy who would just say things 7:42 · and constantly get himself in trouble. 7:45 · James was not any better. 7:47 · James would ask for the best seat in the kingdom. 7:50 · He's like, Jesus, when you're sitting on the throne, 7:51 · can I be right next to you? 7:54 · He didn't understand what he was asking. 7:56 · John would want to call down fire on a Samaritan village. 8:01 · Sons of thunder indeed, this guy was a baller. 8:04 · Like let's just call down fire. 8:06 · The point is these were not Polish disciples. 8:09 · These were the ones that Jesus was still working on. 8:12 · Maybe the most. 8:14 · And here's the beautiful thing. 8:15 · This has happened throughout history. 8:17 · I think of Augustine of Hippo. 8:19 · 1600 years ago, the last guy 8:22 · and the last person you'd expect to call, 8:25 · God to call was this man, Augustine. 8:27 · He was a brilliant young philosopher 8:29 · who was a staunch atheist 8:31 · and into the big things of the day. 8:33 · He was in his early 30s. 8:35 · He was sleeping and living with a girlfriend 8:36 · that he would never marry. 8:38 · He was chasing every new trend and philosophy 8:40 · he could find. 8:41 · He was running from God over a decade 8:44 · while his mother prayed for him day by day with tears. 8:48 · But then one day, 8:49 · as he was sitting in a garden in Milan, 8:51 · he heard a child's voice in the distance 8:54 · singing, tolle legge, tolle legge, 8:58 · take up and read, take up and read. 9:02 · Augustine would then go and pick up a Bible. 9:05 · He opened it to Romans 13 9:07 · and in that garden that he came back to, 9:09 · God called him. 9:11 · Augustine went on to become one of the most 9:12 · important theologians in the church 9:15 · that has ever produced in history. 9:18 · And here's the deal. 9:18 · If God can call Augustine in a garden, 9:21 · he can call you in a chair in cross church. 9:23 · Surprise. 9:25 · And here's the first truth 9:27 · that the text wants us to see 9:30 · is that Jesus calls who Jesus calls. 9:34 · He doesn't call the most talented. 9:36 · He doesn't call the most worthy. 9:38 · He doesn't call the people who have the rest 9:40 · of their life look like it is polished 9:42 · and right on the inside. 9:44 · He calls the people that are willing to surrender to him 9:48 · that might have baggage and hurt in their life, 9:50 · but he will use it in an amazing way. 9:54 · And maybe you walked in today 9:55 · and maybe you feel like you have a weight on you 9:58 · when you come into church. 9:59 · Maybe you feel like, man, I'm at the center. 10:01 · Like this place is gonna like cave in on me. 10:04 · Guess what? 10:04 · If it would have caved in, 10:05 · it would have done it on some of the rest of us 10:07 · who have been here a lot longer than you. 10:10 · And maybe you come in and you feel unworthy 10:12 · to be in the presence of Christ we all are. 10:15 · Yet Jesus graciously calls us. 10:19 · But we see he is the one who calls, 10:20 · but he is also the one who reveals. 10:22 · Verse two of this story, 10:24 · it takes an awesome turn in here 10:26 · as he calls them up to the mountain. 10:28 · They thought they were going for a hike, a nice stroll. 10:31 · And then it says this, 10:32 · that he was transfigured in front of them. 10:35 · That is a loaded sentence. 10:37 · He was transfigured in front of them 10:39 · and his face shone like the sun. 10:43 · His clothes became as white as the lights. 10:49 · Verse two is an important verse. 10:50 · It is the pivot of the passage, 10:53 · the pivot of the entire series up to this point. 10:56 · The Greek word here for transfigured is metamorpho. 11:00 · It's where we get our word metamorphous. 11:03 · But here's something that we need to understand 11:05 · is Jesus is not becoming something that he was not before. 11:09 · Instead, he's revealing something that he always was. 11:14 · For 30 plus years, 11:16 · the divine glory of Jesus had been wrapped 11:18 · in the flesh of mankind. 11:21 · For 30 years, at Jesus, he walked the earth. 11:23 · He had been kind of muting his power, 11:26 · and muting who he was. 11:27 · That it says that in Philippians, 11:29 · it tells us that he came down to know our likeness, 11:32 · to know our weakness. 11:34 · That Jesus knows what it's like to be tempted, 11:37 · to be weak, and to be a broken human. 11:41 · Yesterday, I worked out with my brother-in-law 11:44 · who was like six, four, and really jacked. 11:47 · He's like, let's lift weights together. 11:49 · I'm like, this sounds like a bad idea. 11:51 · We used muscles that I didn't know existed on my body, 11:54 · and I haven't used in 15 plus years. 11:58 · I'm sore here, all right? 12:00 · And he's like, what weights do you wanna start with? 12:01 · I was like, where are the women's weights? 12:03 · I'm gonna start there. 12:05 · And here's the deal. 12:07 · And that was funny, right? 12:09 · Okay, all right. 12:10 · You laughed a little bit too hard at that. 12:11 · Now you're judging me. 12:12 · You wanna fight after? 12:13 · Let's go. 12:14 · Okay, what were we talking about? 12:15 · But here's the deal. 12:17 · Jesus knows what it's like to be broken, 12:21 · to be weak, to get hurt, 12:23 · to be in this flesh that is here today, 12:26 · but is breaking down day by day and is passing away. 12:30 · And he wrapped himself in this flesh. 12:32 · He was hiding the glory of who he was, 12:35 · but then on this mountain, he starts to show it. 12:39 · We actually see a precedent for this 12:40 · in the Old Testament that as they're hiking up, 12:44 · all of a sudden, this brightness shows. 12:47 · And we see this in Exodus chapter 34. 12:50 · Moses also came down with his face shining, 12:53 · but it was a reflection of what was being shown 12:57 · where Jesus is the glory. 12:59 · You think about this for a second. 13:01 · They are just hiking up a mountain with Christ, 13:04 · and out of nowhere, he begins to shine. 13:07 · I was trying to think about this last week 13:09 · because I like to hike more than I like to lift weights. 13:13 · Okay, I'll be honest about that. 13:14 · But as I hike, I'm also not a Boy Scout. 13:17 · I can get lost very easy. 13:18 · Asked my wife, I use Google Maps for everything 13:21 · because especially in the suburbs, 13:22 · I get lost in communities 13:23 · because it's street ends and it shouldn't end, 13:25 · and then you have no idea where you are, 13:27 · and I'm like, and then I have no cell service 13:29 · and no surprise, so it's bad. 13:31 · But when I'm hiking, here's what I do, 13:33 · is I watch the feet of the person I'm with 13:35 · that knows where we're going because I do not. 13:38 · And here, you look at this passage, 13:41 · all of a sudden, Peter's just watching the feet of Christ. 13:44 · They're just going up this mountain, 13:45 · and he turns around, and Jesus' face is shining like the sun. 13:52 · Think about that for a second. 13:53 · Just seeing that picture is his face is radiating glory. 13:58 · It is the radiance of God's glory 14:00 · in the exact expression of his nature 14:02 · as Hebrews 1-3 tells us. 14:06 · Churches is important because this is the question 14:08 · every human being eventually has to answer 14:11 · that they experienced on this day 14:14 · is have you seen the real Jesus? 14:17 · Have you seen this Jesus? 14:19 · Not the Jesus that's on a t-shirt 14:22 · that has kind of come down to our level, 14:25 · not the Jesus that's on a bumper sticker, 14:27 · not the Jesus that's a cuddly Jesus 14:29 · that's on a little coloring sheet 14:31 · that we give away at VBS. 14:33 · Have you seen the real, radiant, glorious Jesus 14:37 · that was up on that mountain? 14:40 · And you see, he was revealed here, 14:43 · but he hasn't been stopped being revealed 14:45 · throughout history. 14:47 · Through scripture, we see how Christ 14:50 · continually reveals himself, 14:52 · and we see he is the one who calls, 14:54 · he is the one who reveals, but it keeps going on. 14:57 · He is also the one who fulfills. 14:59 · Check out verse three. 15:00 · It says suddenly, Moses and Elijah 15:02 · appear to them, talking with them. 15:05 · I love this whole situation's already crazy. 15:08 · They go up on a mountain, 15:09 · and Jesus is just radiating like the sun, 15:11 · and then Matthew's like, and then suddenly, 15:13 · all of a sudden, there's Elijah and Moses. 15:15 · The story just keeps getting crazier. 15:17 · In verse four, then Peter said to Jesus, 15:21 · Lord, it's good for us to be here. 15:24 · He is my man, Captain Obvious. 15:26 · You are seeing Jesus shine like the sun, 15:30 · and you're like, dude, it is good I'm here. 15:32 · Like, nope, duh, Peter, stop talking. 15:35 · And then he goes on. 15:37 · If you want, I will set up three shelters here, 15:41 · one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah. 15:46 · Let's break down this passage a little bit 15:48 · as we see the one who fulfills in Christ 15:51 · is out of nowhere, Moses and Elijah appear. 15:53 · Now, this is important because in the Old Testament, 15:56 · Moses represented the law, 15:59 · and Elijah represents the prophets. 16:02 · So together, these two men 16:04 · represent the whole Old Testament, 16:07 · the entire Bible that the early followers of Christ 16:10 · and the Jews of that day that they knew their Bible, 16:13 · it's represented physically in Elijah and Moses 16:17 · on that mountain. 16:18 · In every law Moses delivered was a shadow 16:21 · of a lawgiver who was coming. 16:23 · Every prophecy that Elijah ever spoke 16:25 · was a sign pointing to a Messiah who would arrive. 16:29 · And now here they are standing next to Christ, 16:32 · pointing to him. 16:34 · And Luke actually fills in the detail 16:36 · that Matthew leaves out here in Luke 9.31. 16:39 · He says Moses and Elijah were speaking to Jesus 16:43 · of his departure, 16:45 · which he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. 16:47 · You see, the Greek word for departure here was Exodus. 16:51 · As Moses in the Old Testament 16:53 · led God's people out of slavery from Egypt, 16:57 · but what's about to happen here 16:59 · is they're talking about to Jesus 17:01 · how he's about to lead people out of slavery 17:03 · and sin into a new life in him. 17:08 · And the prophet of the first Exodus 17:09 · is standing on the mountain 17:10 · talking to the prophet of the new one, 17:12 · getting him ready for the cross. 17:14 · But Peter, you've got to love Peter. 17:19 · He just can't handle it. 17:21 · He just can't keep his mouth shut. 17:24 · You all have someone like that in your life. 17:26 · Maybe you are married to them like my wife. 17:30 · But he's just so overwhelmed 17:33 · that he just starts talking. 17:35 · And as he starts talking, 17:36 · he doesn't even know where his words are going. 17:38 · He's just saying them. 17:39 · He's like, man, it's good for us to be here. 17:41 · This is so great. 17:41 · I'm so excited. 17:42 · Whatever. 17:42 · And he's like, you know what? 17:43 · Jesus, it's great for us to be here. 17:44 · I'm gonna build you three shelters, three tents. 17:47 · I'll give you a tent for Jesus, 17:49 · a tent for Elijah, and a tent for Moses. 17:52 · And it's gonna be great. 17:53 · But here is the problem. 17:54 · What is happening is he's speaking this 17:57 · like he's gonna bring three tents 17:58 · of three equal billing 18:00 · that would be for the three people 18:01 · who are standing on that mountain. 18:04 · Recently, we heard about this conference 18:06 · that's happening in the fall in North Phoenix. 18:09 · And it's a next gen conference. 18:11 · So I sent it to all of our staff here at Crosshurch. 18:14 · It was like, hey, this would be a good thing 18:15 · for you to go to, 18:16 · for you to take some of your key team members. 18:18 · And I'm like, it's gonna be awesome. 18:20 · It's local. 18:21 · It's great. 18:21 · I don't really like conferences. 18:22 · But I'm like, this one's gonna be good. 18:25 · And about two weeks later, 18:26 · they emailed me and said, 18:27 · hey, we lost our keynote speaker. 18:30 · Will you be the keynote speaker? 18:33 · In this conference that I had such a great opinion of, 18:36 · I was like, it ain't gonna be that great anymore 18:38 · if they need me to be the keynote speaker. 18:41 · And then I said, yes. 18:42 · I was like, I got talked into it. 18:43 · And then it's funny 18:44 · because there's three keynote speakers, 18:46 · but they put me at the very top 18:47 · because I look 15 years old. 18:49 · They're like, we gotta put a young guy out there. 18:51 · So they put me on the top of it. 18:53 · And here's the deal. 18:54 · Is this Peter is almost doing the same thing. 18:56 · He's like, he's thinking these three speakers 18:58 · and he's putting them at equal capacity. 19:00 · Is there's Jesus, there's Moses, there's Elijah. 19:03 · They're all in this level playing field. 19:04 · I'll build you a tent for each one. 19:06 · But what Peter does not understand 19:09 · is that as he's putting them all in the level 19:11 · playing field is there's three buildings 19:14 · that he's trying to make three tents today 19:16 · when really only one belongs. 19:19 · Is they are not on the same plane. 19:22 · That Jesus over everything, 19:24 · as we sang here today, 19:25 · that Jesus rise above all the prophets and the law. 19:29 · He came to fulfill them to be what they're pointing to 19:32 · not to be equal with them. 19:35 · Now today we're not offering to build tents 19:37 · for Elijah and Moses and Jesus. 19:40 · But I think in the church today 19:42 · we can make the same mistakes 19:44 · of we try to make tents with alongside Jesus 19:48 · to add him to our lives instead of putting him above it. 19:52 · We make a tent for Jesus and my politics. 19:56 · We make a tent for Jesus and my sports teams. 20:00 · We make a tent for Jesus and my kids' activities. 20:03 · Jesus and my career. 20:05 · Jesus and my sin. 20:06 · Jesus and, and we add these things next to him 20:10 · when he is the one and only 20:11 · and he cannot even be contained by a tent 20:14 · because he is so much bigger and glorious than it all. 20:18 · And here we see the one that the other two 20:23 · were pointing to as the fulfillment of it all. 20:27 · And here's what you need to hear 20:28 · is Jesus did not come to compliment your life, 20:31 · to compliment your worldview, 20:33 · to compliment your religion. 20:34 · He came to fulfill it 20:36 · and be the savior of everything we know. 20:40 · We see the one who calls, 20:42 · the one who reveals, 20:43 · the one who fulfills, 20:44 · but it doesn't stop there. 20:45 · We also see the one who commands. 20:48 · Keep going in verse five. 20:50 · It says, while he was still speaking, 20:52 · this is while Peter is still 20:54 · in the middle of his sentence. 20:56 · It says, suddenly a bright cloud covered them 20:58 · and a voice from the cloud said, 21:00 · this is my beloved son 21:03 · with whom I am well pleased. 21:07 · Listen to him. 21:11 · What I love in this verse 21:12 · is Peter is literally still talking. 21:15 · He's in the middle of a sentence 21:17 · with his three tense idea 21:19 · and the father in heaven sitting on the throne 21:22 · literally interrupts him. 21:26 · Just imagine being in Peter's shoes for a second. 21:28 · He's probably messed himself after this happened, all right? 21:32 · He's talking and then God interrupts him. 21:35 · And he interrupts him within a bright cloud. 21:38 · The bright cloud is what the Old Testament 21:40 · calls the Shekinah glory. 21:42 · It is the visible manifestation of God's presence. 21:45 · It led Israel out of Egypt. 21:48 · It descended on Mount Sinai. 21:50 · It filled the temple at its dedication. 21:52 · It is the very presence of the Almighty God. 21:57 · And out of that cloud comes this voice, 22:01 · not an angel, not a prophet, 22:04 · the voice of God, the father himself. 22:08 · If we thought James Earl Jones 22:10 · sounded awesome as Darth Vader, 22:12 · can you imagine what the voice of God sounds like? 22:17 · And as it speaks, it says three things. 22:20 · First, he says, this is my beloved son. 22:23 · I love this because these same words 22:25 · that are speaking to start Jesus's ministry 22:27 · at his baptism. 22:29 · It is the same voice, 22:30 · the same phrase that comes down from heaven. 22:32 · It is literally giving God the father stamp of approval 22:36 · that he is God in human flesh. 22:40 · But then he goes on and he says, 22:41 · not only is this my beloved son, 22:42 · the second thing he says is, 22:44 · it's with whom I am well pleased. 22:46 · The father confirms the obedience of the son, 22:49 · the perfection of the son. 22:51 · Even though Jesus understands 22:53 · what it's like to be human, 22:55 · is Jesus does not sin and is not broken 22:57 · the same way me and you are. 23:00 · He deals with temporary struggles 23:02 · and he is still perfect, 23:03 · where we deal with what we have here on earth 23:05 · and we screw up time and time again, 23:08 · which is why we are not on equal footing 23:10 · as Jesus Christ. 23:13 · And then the last thing the voice from heaven says 23:15 · is listen to him. 23:20 · This is the hinge of the entire transfiguration 23:24 · that the father interrupts Peter 23:25 · and says, in effect, Peter stop, 23:28 · be quiet, stop building tents, 23:31 · stop trying to put my son in a box, 23:32 · stop talking, stop, stop, stop. 23:36 · And then he said, start listening. 23:39 · You've probably had those moments, 23:40 · especially if you're a parent 23:41 · where your kids will never stop talking 23:44 · and you're like just stop, 23:45 · stop talking, stop talking. 23:47 · I have four of them, 23:47 · so we have that a lot, right? 23:49 · Sometimes we try to play the quiet game 23:51 · after we filled them with handles, 23:52 · ice cream and we're on our way home 23:53 · and it's already two hours past bedtime, 23:55 · we're like stop, stop, stop, 23:56 · we're like quiet game 23:57 · and it works for 30 seconds 23:58 · and then it's loud again. 24:01 · But he interrupts Christ 24:02 · or he interrupts Peter here 24:04 · and he almost interrupts him 24:05 · not to chastise him 24:07 · but interrupts him 24:08 · because he has something greater for him. 24:10 · It's like when your child runs out 24:12 · and you almost need to grab them 24:13 · so they don't get hit by a car 24:14 · or grab them so they don't get hurt 24:15 · and he is interrupting Peter 24:18 · because he's saying, hey, 24:19 · listen to what is so much greater 24:22 · than what our world is saying. 24:24 · Listen to something that is so much more important 24:27 · and I think it begs a question for us today 24:29 · is cross church, how's your listening? 24:33 · If we're honest, 24:36 · I think this is a problem within the American church 24:38 · is we're often very near Jesus 24:41 · but we're often not listening 24:43 · while we are near to Jesus. 24:46 · We have podcasts and small groups 24:48 · and Bible apps and Sunday services 24:50 · and somehow Jesus is still the one voice 24:53 · we are most adept at annoying, 24:56 · ignoring. 24:57 · The father didn't say, be impressed by him. 24:59 · The father said, listen to him. 25:00 · We have more access to the Bible and scripture 25:03 · than any time in history 25:05 · but often we let it be white noise 25:07 · within the midst of the chaos of our worlds. 25:11 · But here we see the one who commands 25:13 · is the one who we listen to, 25:16 · the one who has authority 25:17 · but it continues on through this. 25:19 · He is also the one who saves. 25:21 · Check out verse six. 25:23 · It says when the disciples heard this, 25:25 · they fell face down and were terrified. 25:29 · Yeah, I would think so, all right. 25:31 · Jesus' face is glowing, 25:33 · people popping up who've been dead 25:34 · for a lot of hundreds of years 25:37 · and all of a sudden a voice from heaven speaks. 25:39 · I would be terrified, all right. 25:41 · I think we're all scared and falling down at that moment 25:43 · and they were terrified. 25:44 · They had no idea how to respond to this. 25:46 · It was just too much for them to handle 25:50 · but check out verse seven. 25:53 · As they fell face down 25:55 · and as they were terrified, 25:58 · Jesus came up, he touched them 26:01 · and he said, get up. 26:04 · Don't be afraid. 26:07 · The disciples hear the voice of God 26:10 · thunder out of the cloud of glory 26:15 · and they can't do anything 26:16 · but collapse and fall on the ground. 26:18 · It says they're face down. 26:20 · They are trembling. 26:22 · The Greek word says they feared a great fear. 26:25 · Their life, they are wrecked. 26:27 · They have no idea how to respond 26:28 · and then look at how Jesus responds. 26:33 · He doesn't leave them on the ground. 26:36 · He doesn't scold them for their actions. 26:39 · Instead, he comes to them. 26:42 · He bridges the distance. 26:44 · He reaches down. 26:45 · He touches them and he speaks the two words 26:48 · every terrified sinner needs to hear. 26:51 · Don't be afraid. 26:55 · Let that picture just preach to your heart for a moment. 27:00 · The glorified Christ whose face moments ago 27:04 · was too bright to look at. 27:07 · He bends down and he touches them 27:09 · with the same hand where he was flinging stars 27:12 · into the sky at the beginning of creation. 27:15 · He speaks to them in the same voice 27:17 · that spoke our world into existence. 27:20 · With that same voice, 27:21 · he talks to them and says, do not be afraid. 27:27 · You see, this right here is the gospel encapsulated 27:33 · that the God of glory bends down 27:36 · to lift up the terrified. 27:40 · And so often, I think we run from God 27:42 · because we feel like we are too unworthy. 27:45 · In church, we are. 27:47 · But Jesus knows your sin. 27:50 · He knows your brokenness. 27:51 · He knows your fears. 27:53 · He knows your hurts. 27:54 · He knows your screw ups. 27:56 · He knows how bad of a sinner you are. 27:58 · Paul, I love, who wrote most of the New Testament, 28:01 · it said, I am a chief among sinners. 28:02 · He said that because he knew himself better 28:05 · than he knew anyone else. 28:06 · You know how messed up you are 28:08 · because you know the thoughts, 28:10 · the things you have done, 28:11 · the thoughts that run through your head. 28:12 · You are broken. 28:15 · But you have a God who created you, 28:18 · who loved you, who came down for you, 28:21 · who lived a perfect life for you, 28:23 · who died on a cross for you, 28:25 · who took your sins for you, 28:26 · who rose again to defeat those sins 28:28 · and to save us so we could have a new life in him. 28:33 · Jesus on this mount, 28:36 · he shows that he is the one who saves, 28:39 · the one who calls, 28:41 · the one who reveals, 28:42 · the one who fulfills, 28:43 · the one who commands, 28:45 · the one who saves. 28:46 · And ultimately, this all leads to the fact 28:49 · that he is the only one we worship. 28:52 · In verse eight, 28:54 · as we close out this part of the passage 28:56 · we are looking at today, 28:59 · it says when they looked up, 29:00 · they saw no one except Jesus alone. 29:06 · This might be the most underlined verse 29:09 · in this whole passage for me. 29:12 · That the cloud is gone, 29:14 · the voice is silent, 29:16 · Moses is gone, 29:18 · Elijah is gone, 29:20 · three-tenths will not be necessary, 29:22 · the vision is over, 29:24 · and as they look up, 29:25 · they saw no one except Jesus alone. 29:31 · Three of the most important figures in human history 29:34 · were just standing on that mountain. 29:36 · They saw Moses who parted the Red Sea 29:38 · and led a million people through a wilderness 29:40 · into their freedom. 29:42 · They saw Elijah who called down fire from heaven 29:45 · and put on a display in front of false gods. 29:49 · They say Jesus, 29:50 · the miracle-working carpenter from Nazareth 29:52 · who has made a name for himself. 29:54 · And when the smoke clears, 29:58 · there is only one of them left. 30:01 · And church, that is the entire point of this miracle. 30:05 · And the entire point of what this series 30:08 · has been building to 30:09 · is when the lights come up at the end of your life, 30:12 · who is going to be left standing in front of you? 30:16 · Let me tell you, it will not be your favorite pastor, 30:19 · which I hope is me for a little bit longer 30:20 · until your next stage of life, all right? 30:22 · It is not going to be your favorite politician. 30:25 · It is not going to be your favorite athlete. 30:27 · If you've been married multiple times, 30:28 · it is not going to be your favorite spouse. 30:30 · It is not going to be your favorite fill in the blank. 30:35 · It is going to be Jesus and Jesus alone. 30:40 · When the smoke clears, 30:41 · the only one left standing in the room is him. 30:47 · And throughout history, 30:49 · people have lived out this truth 30:52 · knowing that he is the one who changes everything. 30:57 · In the year 156 AD, 31:00 · there was a man named Polycarp. 31:02 · And he was an old man, 86 years old. 31:04 · He was the Bishop of Smyrna, 31:06 · but he was arrested by Roman officials 31:08 · and he was ordered to deny Jesus Christ 31:11 · and swear allegiance to Caesar. 31:13 · You had to be told, Caesar is Lord. 31:15 · And he said, they threatened him with, 31:17 · we will feed you to wild beasts. 31:19 · They threatened him with fire. 31:20 · And you know what this old man said to them? 31:24 · He said, 86 years I have served him 31:27 · and he has done me no wrong. 31:30 · How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? 31:34 · He's like, he is the only one 31:36 · left standing at the end of the day. 31:40 · In Matthew 17, we see three men on one mountain 31:46 · where everything changed. 31:49 · You see that 60 seconds on the mountain 31:51 · wrecks them in the best possible way. 31:54 · The Peter is the first one we see from here 31:57 · who says went up with him. 31:59 · This is the same Peter who tried to build three tents. 32:02 · He will one day preach a sermon at Pentecost 32:05 · in Acts chapter two where 3,000 people 32:08 · were saved and baptized. 32:10 · I can't even imagine the logistics 32:12 · of getting that coordinated, all right? 32:14 · You're like, hey, just keep, 32:15 · baptize yourself at this point. 32:17 · Like there's just too many of you, right? 32:18 · It's like just the spirit being poured out 32:21 · in a crazy way. 32:22 · That same Peter will be the first 32:24 · to take the gospel to the Gentiles in Acts 10. 32:26 · The same Peter, according to church tradition, 32:29 · would be crucified upside down 32:31 · because he said, I am unworthy to die 32:33 · the same way as the Lord. 32:35 · And listen to what Peter writes near the end of his life 32:37 · in 2 Peter chapter one verse 16. 32:40 · He says, for we did not follow 32:42 · cleverly contrived myths when we made known 32:44 · to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. 32:46 · He said, we didn't make this stuff up. 32:49 · We weren't just like trying to get you 32:50 · in a Ponzi scheme to try to win you over. 32:53 · He says this, instead, 32:55 · we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 32:58 · This is what he's pointing to, 32:59 · the transfiguration, everything that happens 33:02 · when Christ revealed himself. 33:03 · And he says, we ourselves heard this voice 33:06 · when it came from heaven 33:08 · while we were with him on the holy mountain. 33:12 · Peter's like, I'm gonna die for this 33:14 · because I truly know who Jesus is. 33:15 · He's like, I've seen him. 33:17 · Three decades after the transfiguration 33:19 · on the brink of death, 33:21 · Peter looks back and says, 33:23 · I'm staking my whole life 33:25 · what I saw on that mountain. 33:27 · You see James. 33:29 · James was the older brother of John 33:31 · and he was the first of the 12 33:32 · to be martyred and killed for his faith. 33:35 · In Acts chapter 12, 33:36 · he was beheaded by Herod Agrippa around AD 44 33:39 · and after about a decade of ministry, he's gone. 33:43 · And the crazy thing about James 33:45 · is he didn't write a gospel, 33:47 · he didn't write an epistle, 33:48 · he didn't have a church plant that he started 33:50 · that we know about. 33:51 · We don't even know if he pastored a church. 33:53 · But he just had a willingness to die first. 33:57 · Early tradition tells us that on his way, 34:00 · the guy who was walking with him, 34:02 · who was going to behead him and cut his head off 34:04 · that was holding the sword, 34:06 · he's sharing the gospel with that guy 34:08 · on the way to get beheaded. 34:10 · He wins that dude to Christ 34:12 · and he gets his head cut off 34:14 · along with James at the same time. 34:18 · James, the dude who wanted to rain fire on a village. 34:22 · When he approached and he saw Jesus on a mountain, 34:25 · everything else in his life changed. 34:28 · And then there's John. 34:30 · John outlived everybody. 34:33 · He wrote five books of our New Testament, 34:35 · the Gospel of John, 34:36 · first, second, and third, 34:37 · John, super original, and Revelation. 34:40 · And listen to how John opens up his gospel 34:42 · in John 1, 14. 34:43 · He said the word being Jesus became flesh 34:46 · and dwelt among us. 34:48 · We observed his glory, 34:49 · the glory as the one and only son from the father. 34:54 · He's saying this guy is God. 34:56 · 60 years later, John is still writing 34:58 · about what he saw on the mountain. 35:01 · And in his final years, 35:03 · as he's exiled on the Isle of Patmos, 35:05 · it's like Survivor, 35:07 · but there's nobody else there 35:08 · and you do not win a million dollars 35:10 · and it doesn't end. 35:12 · And in his final years, 35:14 · he gets one more glimpse 35:16 · of the glorified Christ in Revelation 1 35:18 · and once again, 35:19 · he falls face down to the same Jesus, 35:22 · the same face to the same response. 35:26 · And here's the deal, 35:26 · three men in this story, 35:29 · three trajectories of their life 35:32 · going in opposite direction, 35:33 · but one moment on a mountain 35:36 · changed everything for them. 35:40 · And this is what we see 35:41 · throughout all these miracles of Christ. 35:43 · What we see in this story, 35:44 · this miraculous truth that hits all of us 35:47 · and we need to hear today 35:49 · is when Jesus reveals himself to you, 35:53 · everything about your life changes. 35:56 · You cannot stay the same. 35:59 · That when you see Jesus through his word, 36:02 · that as he wrestles in your heart, 36:03 · when he makes himself known to you, 36:06 · your life cannot stay the same. 36:11 · You see Peter, 36:12 · the fisherman who couldn't keep his mouth shut 36:14 · on the mountain, 36:15 · he became the rock of the early church 36:18 · that it was built upon. 36:19 · John, the disciple who wanted the throne 36:21 · became the first to die for the king. 36:23 · John, James, I'm sorry, 36:26 · John, the son of thunder, 36:27 · became the apostle of love. 36:29 · The mountain made these men. 36:31 · The encounter in seeing Jesus changed 36:34 · everything about their life. 36:35 · And if you hear nothing, 36:37 · my heart for you is that you would see Christ 36:40 · and everything else in your life would change. 36:44 · And here's the deal, 36:45 · maybe for you, 36:47 · it's not gonna be on a mountain 36:49 · where Jesus shows his face like the sun. 36:52 · Maybe he's gonna reveal himself 36:54 · to the way he revealed himself to me 36:56 · when I was 15 years old. 36:59 · When I was 15 years old in my room, 37:02 · that's not a good way to start a story, right? 37:05 · But I was reading my Bible. 37:08 · And as someone who had grown up in church, 37:10 · someone who knew all the Bible answers, 37:12 · I just had this hunger in me of like, 37:13 · I need to figure out if this thing is real or not. 37:16 · And as I'm attempting to read through the Bible, 37:19 · really what the skeptics had on, 37:21 · is this actually true? 37:24 · I came across Ecclesiastes 3 11, 37:26 · which is the most random verse 37:28 · to be your salvation in your life verse. 37:31 · But it said, he had made everything, 37:33 · he has made being God everything appropriate in his time. 37:37 · They said this, 37:38 · he has also put eternity in their hearts. 37:42 · But no one can discover the work God has done 37:45 · from beginning to end. 37:49 · In there, I felt this sense and this spirit 37:52 · that God put and spoke through his word in that verse, 37:55 · that nothing you will do will fill the eternal void 37:59 · that I created in your hearts. 38:02 · That you can make money, you can chase success, 38:06 · you can get fame, you can get influence, 38:08 · you can chase the desires of your sin in your flesh, 38:12 · but none of it will fill your life. 38:17 · Because you have an eternal void in your hearts 38:21 · that can only be filled by an eternal God 38:24 · who knows what he has done from beginning to end, 38:27 · from eternity to eternity, 38:29 · because he is the one who created us, 38:32 · but he is the one who saves us 38:34 · and shows us something else. 38:38 · And maybe you're sitting here today, 38:41 · and you have encountered Jesus. 38:44 · He has revealed himself to you. 38:47 · This is your church family. 38:50 · You serve him. 38:51 · You work for him. 38:53 · He is changing your life, 38:54 · but if you are honest, 38:57 · there's moments where you're like Peter on the mountain 38:59 · and you're building other tents 39:02 · that you're putting right next to Jesus. 39:06 · Maybe you need to tear down the tents 39:08 · of your comfort or your career 39:11 · or putting your family in a place that it shouldn't be, 39:14 · and maybe there are some tents that are blocking, 39:16 · and you need Jesus to rise above it, 39:19 · the one who cannot be contained by a tent, 39:22 · but the one who is meant to be 39:23 · the guiding Lord of your life, 39:25 · who is full of glory 39:26 · that nothing else in our world can touch. 39:31 · But maybe that's not you yet. 39:35 · Maybe you're not a follower of Christ. 39:39 · You're not willing to give the historical answer 39:42 · of I will die for him as the men we studied about 39:46 · and how women and men have responded throughout history. 39:49 · Maybe you don't know Christ yet, 39:53 · but he's revealing himself to you 39:56 · through his word, 39:58 · through the Holy Spirit, 40:00 · through the people around you. 40:03 · And in just a second, as we pray, 40:05 · I wanna give you an invitation 40:06 · to stop saying no to him, 40:09 · to start saying yes to him being the Lord of your life, 40:16 · and see how when Jesus reveals himself to you, 40:21 · how everything in our life changes because of it.